Yesterday I went to Lowe's to get some stuff for the house. A large pickup drove in front of me in the parking lot with a massive advertising sign stating - 'God said there is no evolution. That settles it.'

The problem is the wasteIt is so fat and fast hardNot only can the ends not meetThe zipper is unable to clothesAnd the buckle is in a kerfuffleThe belt is for WHIPPING othersNot holding up the forgotten fat.

A few years ago, I was asked to tutor a high-school kid failing biology. Didn't know the family or the kid.

First session, I ask for the kid's recent tests, so I could see where his problem areas were. One of the tests handed me was completely blank, with a big red "F" on it.

I ask the kid if he was absent when this test was taken, and that's why it's blank...?

"No, I was there. The test was about evolution, and we all know that's made up by the devil. So I refused to take it."

I sit silent for a minute.

"You do know that if you request it, the biology teacher will give you alternate work/tests during the evolution parts of the class, right?" I ask.

"Yes, we know. My mom told me not to do that, but to just refuse to take the test."

I called the mom in, told her that I'm sorry, but I can't help your kid, and suggested she go talk with the teacher. When she asked why, I explained that whether you accept it or not, biology requires understanding the concept of evolution -- and that if she was going to sabotage her kid by telling him to refuse to take tests instead of doing alternate work, there was nothing I could do for them.

She and the kid drove off in a huff.

He never passed biology. The next year, he took physics (and failed!).

I enjoyed this account of the lazy kid, and lazy parents. I'm wondering back when I was in high school I don't remember one word about evolution. And we had biology, chemistry, physics. Unless things have changed drastically, I think anyone can get through high school without evolution. (maybe even college?) Is there something in science that hinges on evolution? (specifically for humans)

The bible states that god specially made the first man, Adam, from dirt. And specially made the first woman, Eve, from one of Adam's ribs.

It doesn't say anywhere that the first humans evolved over millions to billions of years from other species.

I know there are lots of christian religions who simply declare that what the bible says about the first man and woman is "allegory," and use that to accept the fact of evolution. But there are also lots of christian religions who reject the "allegory" thing (I don't blame them, it's a cop-out) and take what the bible says as truth, in which case they'd have to deny evolution.

Personally, I wish they'd all simply admit the bible creation story is flat-out wrong. 'Cause it is. It's not "allegory," it's myth -- and it's wrong. But since that would open the door to the rest of the bible being flat-out wrong, there aren't many christians who will do that.

I'm glad many christians accept the fact of evolution, even if they have to get there by a cop-out. That's better than denying the fact of evolution. But not much. :)

Guilty as charged! I accept evolutionary biology as the best scientific explanation of the mechanics of life, in all its varieties, that we currently have. If in 500 years (assuming the human species is still around) there’s more advanced evidence, so be it. If I lived several thousand years ago, I’d probably accept the liternalness of Genesis.

IF I had any criticism, Hie, it would be that you're an absolute logical-positivist. Not all of us think—or care to think—in these philosophical terms.

Absolute faith in science can lead to “scientism.” Under the rubric of scientism, anything goes to promote “science.” Just ask the Nazi “doctors”—everything was permissible as it benefited science and the best interests of the state.

Id rather we be existential in acknowledging that differences in thought and philosophy are part if the human experience. Mythos used to inform cultures of their values and mores. Im still waiting for a systemstic system of vslues abd morals coming from the scientific community. I BELIEVE I’m in for a long wait.

> There have been (and probably will be) people who> put "faith" in science. They're living> contradictions...and clearly not people who think> things through.

Agreed my esteemed friend! Any person who creates a midset where the ontolgy and epistemology of a world/universal view becomes sine qua non has created an idealistic philosophical stance. The danger of any ideal is that all things are subject to the preservation of that ideal. Hence, supposed “scientists” and Nazism. It wasn't sciencific logic, but a twisted ideology creating horrific tortures done in the name of science.

Man, i cant wait to have that beer! We’ve got better things to talk about than religion. I just wish that my mind could grasp the science that you so fully understand. We’ll always have Palomar!

I live in the bible belt also and can tell you that "religious" signs and decals are very popular among the rednecks we have around here. When I was a single mom struggling to raise children on my own I had a car with a slipping transmission. One day my little car was slowly chugging to get up a hill. The lady behind me had a front tag on her car that said "smile jesus loves you." She went around me and flipped me and my poor children off with a hateful look on her face. Guess jesus just didn't love me that day.

Many years ago I was in the hospital running a high fever (104-105) and in delirious state of mind.

A chaplain of some type came into my room and said something to the effect "...creation or evolution, what if just happened..".

I'm pretty sure I missed part of the message one way or another, but all I answered with was "what difference does it make, if it was creation, how does it change my life, if it was evolution, same question. Either way it doesn't change anything."

A while ago, I was in Dallas, Texas. I went to a symphony concert downtown on a Saturday night. Afterward, i thought I’d just hail a cab...no dice! No traffic, the stop lights were yellow, no people—the symphony security people called me a cab.

I remarked to the driver (an older African American gent) that things were sure quiet on a Saturday night in downtown Dallas.

He turned around and said, “This is the Bible-belt, we don't want you having a good time! Oh yeah, you might like a sip of Jack or kick your heals up in a dance, but that’s sinful!”

I replied that I was headed back to Salt Lake City, Utah, and we didn't want people to have a good time there either!

You could even say your state cultURE wants you to have even LESS of a good time than "Dallas", if that's possible. If he only knew.

I like 'Bloopers' and 'Boners'. I got a early paperback (and front) book entitled above. It's 'funny' - no pun intended - that one word can mean two completely different - or are they? - things (no pun intended).

In the Biology course I'm taking at university we just recently discussed evolution. The instructor went over some scary numbers in class -- something like 25% of the general population does not believe evolution?

It seems that most laypeople refuse to understand the basics of the scientific process, not to mention evolution; they think that their "faith" provides all the answers while science is just "guesswork." Far too many people insist that scientific theories are just guesses because nothing in science is ever 100% certain. But they don't understand that theory is about as close as you can get to certainty. Literally all of the scientific observations and experiments conducted over the past several hundred years support evolution.

I don't understand people who can just trust in all the God/Jesus/Bible stuff despite having absolutely zero repeatable, verifiable evidence, but then have a problem with evolution, biology and science.

If you actually understand how science works, then it makes perfect sense whether or not you have a good instructor; you can actually do experiments, or read up on the experiments others have performed, and see the results for yourself. It's not like science teachers can just make this stuff up; they actually have a huge body of repeatable, verifiable evidence to back up their claims. Unlike religion.

You know I really have a lot of trouble with all this "Do not study evolution, it is evil" stuff. I once had a student who told me they didn't like studying evolution as they didn't believe in it. I said that I accepted her lack of belief, everyone has a right to believe what they choose. However, if I was a creationist, I would want to know ALL that the evolutionists taught in order to be able to make a good argument against it. If you don't know anything you come up looking pretty bad in any argument about it.

I also encouraged her to see evolution as a theory in which there are lots of cracks and things yet to be explained. I told her I felt that many people would view the creationist ideas in the same way and that too is valid. The important thing is to learn and to be able to look at both sides intelligently.

As evolution was only a small part of the first part of the first course she did in archaeology, I was pleased to see her do as I suggested and go on and finish her degree in Aboriginal Archaeology.

Why oh why must we all be SO adamant? There is room for opinion and even academic argument about in all these things. It is not the knowledge that is the problem, but how adamant people are in their beliefs. It is all SO sad.

That's a circular fallacy or can be appeal to authority fallacy it's like sayin' "God said there's no evolution. Therefore, there's no evolution bcoz God only speaks the truth. So that settles it"!

They arrive into conclusion without sufficient evidence to support it. Most religion if not all especially mormons commits these common fallacies (ad hominems, appeal to ignorance and the ones given above).

Just so you know, really Orthodox Jews feel the same way about evolution as fundies.

One should note that the Bible really does teach evolution is you read carefully and don't insist on every story being simply meant to be literal. Paul wrote, for example, that the story of Abraham and Sarah was an allegory.

donbagley Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> "God said" is a tell. What it tells is the story> of a blunted mind. It tells a tale of superiority> and judgment. It doesn't mean what the person who> says it thinks it means.

Badassadam1 Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> Did god really say there is no evolution> specifically? I never read the entire bible so i> have no idea.

"god" never said anything.People write what they imagine "god" says/wants -- but that's not the same thing.

The bible states that humans were directly created magically by "god," which contradicts the fact that we evolved like every other living thing on earth. You can still "believe" by dismissing the bible creation story as "allegory," but that's rather disingenuous IMHO.